Why communities win: How culture and connection fuel productivity
Written By SWOOP Analytics
Eli Lilly | Viva Engage Festival 2025 | AMER - YouTube
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Eli Lilly | Viva Engage Festival 2025 | AMER SWOOP Analytics
What this session was about Ray showed how Eli Lilly uses Viva Engage communities to create meaningful connection across teams, functions, and geographies, and why that connection directly improves innovation and productivity.
Key messages
- Broadcast doesn’t build culture — communities do. One-way updates don’t inspire action; shared spaces do.
- Real engagement happens where people connect around shared purpose. Communities give people ways to ask, learn, collaborate and co-create.
- Storytelling drives belonging. Employees sharing real work, experiences and wins builds cultural glue.
- Innovation increases when barriers disappear. Cross-functional communities reduce silos and surface ideas leaders would otherwise miss.
- Connection fuels productivity. When people feel part of something bigger, they engage, collaborate and solve problems faster.
- Community momentum is intentional. Eli Lilly nurtures active groups, supports community owners and protects the spaces employees rely on.
- Viva Engage is becoming their “people platform.” Not a channel. Not a bulletin board. A living network of shared human connection.
What you can take from this
- Broadcast comms can’t build the culture you want — communities can.
- Real stories from real people spark collaboration more than announcements ever will.
- Cross-functional communities are where innovation hides.
- Connection directly improves productivity — it’s not a “soft” metric.
- Purpose-driven communities outlast campaigns.
Meet the speaker:
Ray Gonzales Lead, Tech@Lilly, Business Capabilities
Q&A Panel (All AMER speakers)
14 November 2025
Q&A session with all speakers.
Why communities win: How culture and connection fuel productivity
We’re slowly seeing Viva Engage become another broadcast channel, but one-way broadcast messages aren’t enough to engage, inspire, or drive action. True connection happens in communities—where people share, learn, collaborate, and remember they’re part of something bigger.
This session, Ray takes us through why communities at Eli Lilly reach beyond broadcast communications to drive engagement and innovation and spark imagination.
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Discover how harmonising real-world communication practices with workplace tools transforms leadership engagement. Dan shares lessons from a decade of internal communications, exploring the shift from traditional email and town halls to dynamic, community-driven conversations. Learn practical strategies for leaders to foster transparency, dialogue, and everyday connection, making digital engagement work for everyone.